A Christmas Carol: Abigail
Older Kazran jumped to his feet in his sitting room and rushed to the back wall as the video ended, the shark having knocked the recording apart. Despite not being able to see it in front of him it was like he was still seeing it in his mind, his memories forming, playing it as though it were happening, as though e were there he could remember it so vividly, "No!" he cried, flinching back as if the shark were in that very room, "It's going to eat us!"
~8~
The trio was on the floor, in the far corner of the cupboard, out of reach from the shark who was, at the moment, wedged in the doorway, thrashing about. The shark opened its mouth, a green glow of the sonic inside it and Angel frowned. That couldn't be good for the poor shark, both being stuck in the door as that had to hurt its ribs, but also having the sonic in him. The sonic was very nearly indestructible, it wouldn't wear away over time, it would just...be there, forever in the shark's stomach and that would be bad for the shark. What if it thought it was full because of the constant presence of the sonic? What if it didn't eat enough and got ill or died? Yes the shark was currently trying to eat THEM, but...it was just an animal, it was living on instinct, and it was doing what was natural, hunting. What if it was a mother too? What if it was hunting for food for its babies?!
"It's going to eat us!" Kazran gasped, clinging to Angel, needing to feel safe with the shark looming at them, he didn't know why he chose her to hold onto. The Doctor was a man, he was clearly the one in the know, he was the 'man with a plan' he supposed, but...he was also the man who had the oh-so brilliant idea to rig up a lure for the fish and ended up getting them into that situation in the first place! Angel...all she had done since she'd entered his room was try to make him feel better and comforted and safe, and, to be honest, he was feeling safe at the moment, her arms around him, like he imagined his mother would do if she were still alive.
Sometimes he thought that was why his father was so mean to him, because he always said he looked like his mother, and his mother had died when he was very young, when she had given birth to him. Sometimes he thought his father blamed him for it and that, if he weren't the man's son, he'd have been cast out ages ago. It was...nice...having an older woman care about him like that, Mrs. Mantovani was very old and more like a great-grandmother than a mother and...that was all he really wanted, to know his mother. That was probably why he spent a lot of time around the gypsies as his father had rightly implied, because they were so close, such a tight family and always so happy and kind to each other. The mothers especially.
"It's going to eat us!" he shouted again as it snapped once more, making him flinch back and Angel hold him tighter, "It's going to eat us..." but then he noticed it wasn't really getting any closer as it really was wedged in the doorway, "Is it going to eat us?"
"Maybe we're going to eat it," the Doctor ventured, glancing at Angel for a clue as to how this would go, but she could only shrug and he nodded, she likely hadn't seen this coming, "But I don't like the odds," he turned back to the shark, eyeing it critically, "It's stuck, though. Let's see. Tiny brain. If I had my screwdriver, I could probably stun it."
"Well, where's your screwdriver?"
"Well, concentrating on the plusses...within reach. There's a real chance, the way it's wedged in the doorway, of keeping its mouth open."
"There is?"
"Agree with me. 'Cos I've only got two goes, and then it's your turn."
"Doctor don't," Angel shook her head, seeing where his mind was going, and not really needing to as this was something only he would think to do.
"Two goes?" Kazran shook his head.
"Two arms!" the Doctor held up his hands, "Right, then! Ok," he took a breath, looking at the shark, "Geronimo! Open wide!" he got up and lunged for the shark...only for Angel to yank him back by the back of his jacket.
"Don't you dare!" she shouted, pointing a warning finger at him. She waited a moment, making sure that he would stay back, waiting till he turned his hands around in surrender before she pushed herself up.
She looked at the shark, swallowing hard, not having a clue at all if this would work but...if a blind and injured Krafayis listened to her...maybe a hungry flying shark would too? She didn't know, but she had to try, she wasn't about to let the Doctor stick his arms into the mouth of a shark when she didn't know for sure if he'd be ok in the end. She inhaled deeply and slowly made her way towards the shark, her hands out at it, trying to make herself as unthreatening as possible, whispering soothingly to it the closer she came. She'd just tried to focus on being calm, on exuding that calm, hoping it might calm the shark the same way it used to calm the Doctor.
One had to be calm when dealing with the Doctor, the man, for all his claims of her being intuitive, was very much aware of the emotions around him, especially hers. Or he had been at least. She'd realized very early on that he reacted rather strongly to her own emotions. When she was scared he was protective, when she was sad he was comforting, when she was hurt he was murderous. She had to be calm around him in order for him to eventually calm, in order for her to get through to him. If SHE flew off the handle, he'd be close behind and ten times worse. So she always just tried to be calm, be that soothing force that tempered the Oncoming Storm. And it used to work.
And this was a shark, a flying shark, it lived in the cloud belt, in the biggest storm ever, if she could calm the Doctor...a shark was nothing. And, well, the TARDIS was there so the shark would understand her even if she didn't already speak Shark (passingly so it really was a good thing the TARDIS was there, her 'sea creature' wasn't very strong.)
Kazran watched in awe as the shark started to calm down at Angel's whispers, staring with wide eyes as the girl actually managed to put her hand on the shark's head, the beast relaxing under her touch enough to fall out of the door and to the floor.
"Kazran," Angel called, her one hand on the shark's head before she turned to hold her other hand out to him, "Do you want to pet her?"
Kazran blinked and looked at the Doctor for permission, to see if it was safe enough, only to see the man was shaking his head at Angel, a small, fond smile on his face, clearly this hadn't been the first time she'd been able to calm a vicious beast intent on eating them. He turned back to Angel to see her smiling encouragingly and nodded, hesitantly making his way to her, kneeling beside her as she took his hand and laid it to rest on the shark. He started to smile, feeling the shark breathing and not attacking and began to pet it.
~8~
Kazran and Angel were kneeling on a small section of roof outside Kazran's bedroom, on either side of the shark that they'd managed to coax into flying out of Kazran's room. However the poor shark had only hovered, making it just out the window before collapsing to the ground, alarming all of them as it shuddered and made heartbreaking pained noises. Angel was currently shushing it gently as she stroked its back, trying to comfort it, but having no idea what was wrong or if the Vortex could even be used to heal animals. She hadn't tried but...she got the feeling it wasn't anything physically wrong with the shark it was just...it was like when a fish was out of water too long, the sky was its water. It was lying on the ground almost motionless now, though more asleep as a result of Angel's ministrations though it seemed rather very weak.
"What's the big fishy done to you?" the Doctor frowned as he stood a few feet away, examining what was left of his sonic, leaving the shark to Angel and Kazran's care for now, they wouldn't be able to find out what was wrong without getting the sonic working, "Swallowed half of you, that's what. Half a screwdriver, what use is that? Bad, big fishy."
"Doctor?" Kazran looked up, "I think she's dying."
"Half my screwdriver's still inside," he sighed, turning around, "But yeah, I think so. I doubt they can survive long outside the cloud belt. Just quick raiding trips on a foggy night."
"Can't we get it back up there?" he sniffled and Angel reached over and took the boy's hand that was resting on the shark's back across from hers, "We just wanted to stop it. I didn't want to kill it."
"She was trying to eat you."
"She was hungry."
~8~
Older Kazran sat in his chair, curled up, tears falling down his cheeks as he remembered the shark, the first fish he'd ever seen. It was odd, he should know what was going to happen, it was his past, he should know if the shark would be ok...but it seemed as though, as his memories rewrote themselves, it only happened as the Doctor and Angel were changing it, like it was happening parallel with their time in the past.
~8~
"I'm sorry, Kazran," the Doctor shook his head, "We can't save her."
Angel winced at that, not liking that, not wanting it to happen, and not willing to give up, "Couldn't we get her back to the cloud belt?" she looked at the Doctor.
He shook his head, "She'd never survive the trip. We need a fully functioning life-support."
"You mean like an icebox?" Kazran perked up, "Ok!" he jumped up, grabbing Angel's hand and pulling her towards the house, the Doctor following as they walked down a set of stairs into a sitting room. Kazran ran off to get a lamp while the Doctor got distracted by the giant Christmas tree set up in the corner.
"Oh, a tree!" he laughed.
"Doctor!" Angel called as Kazran took her hand again and led her down to the basement, the Doctor jogging after. The group stopping when they arrived at a thick metal door with a small window in it. Angel crossed her arms, a bit chilly, there was frost on the walls and she was starting to feel cold now, like the room inside was colder than it should be. It really took very extreme weather conditions for her or the Doctor to feel it but she'd noticed, since being pregnant, that she was a bit more sensitive to the temperatures.
The Doctor half-pressed his face to the small window, peering through it to see a large room lined with metal containers, like the pod the blonde woman had been in before when they'd first met Older Kazran, "What is this?" the Doctor asked.
"The surplus population," Kazran frowned, and they could both sense his unease with calling it that, "That's what my dad calls it," he added as they reached out, trying to turn the wheel on the door but it wouldn't budge, "Oh, it's not turning! Oh, why won't it turn?"
The Doctor used the partial sonic on the security pad beside the door but it didn't work, "Ah, what's the number?"
~8~
"7258," Older Kazran stated from his seat, jolting forward as though wanting to help them, actually wanting to give them the secret code to save the shark.
~8~
"I don't know!" Kazran shrugged.
"This place is full of alarms, it's not just the door. I need the number!" the Doctor ran back to the wheel as Angel closed her eyes and concentrated, wanting to try something.
If they were there with Younger Kazran, and Older Kazran's past was being rewritten perhaps there was some sort of temporal connection she could try to sense...
~8~
"7258!"
~8~
"I need the number!" the Doctor stated.
"I'm not allowed to know until I'm older."
The Doctor's eyes widened and he turned to dash off, but Angel called out, "Doctor wait!"
He turned to see her holding a hand up to stop him while her eyes were still closed, a look of concentration on her face, her eyebrows scrunched (adorably) together as she frowned, focusing...
~8~
"7258!"
~8~
'...7258...'
Angel smiled, beamed really, at hearing a ghostly whisper in her mind that sounded oddly enough like Older Kazran. She'd been trying for so long to 'force' a vision and while this wasn't exactly that, it was as close as she had ever come. And that was fantastic!
"7258," she opened her eyes, "Thank you Kazran!" she rushed to the little boy and hugged him, half-picking him up despite her size and spinning him around as he laughed.
~8~
Older Kazran blinked, stunned, recalling how he'd begun to think the girl really WAS psychic, before he smiled, putting a hand to his cheek...
~8~
Angel set Kazran down and grabbed his hands, "You are a brilliant boy Kazran," she told him, kissing his cheek as the Doctor ran to the keypad.
"7258," the Doctor beamed, punching in the number, the wheel unlocking with a click.
Kazran quickly turned it and the door opened. They ran in to see the room, a vault more like it, really was quite colder than Angel had first thought, with a thick fog along the ground, coming up to around their knees and thighs. Angel couldn't help but shiver a bit more and hug herself again.
"Are you cold?" the Doctor asked, having noticed her shiver and, recalling a few times she'd shivered in the past, when someone had been harmed elsewhere, he wanted to be sure.
"A bit," she shrugged.
And then a moment later she blinked, looking down at her shoulders to find the Doctor's coat around her arms. She stared at it a good minute, confused as to how it was there when she saw the Doctor follow Kazran into the vault, now without his coat. She blinked again because...that had been almost instantaneous. She'd said she was cold and the next thing she knew his coat was around her, as though he had automatically taken it off and given it to her, without a second thought, and that really was so him to do so...she was trying not to get her hopes up too high that there might be more to it than that, that he'd done it so quickly because he felt something for her when, in reality, it could just be him being his normal considerate self.
She shook her head and smiled, whatever the reason, it was a very sweet gesture and she was very grateful as she stuck her arms into his coat, still warm from him wearing it and followed after them.
Perhaps she ought to think of wearing a jacket, or at least bringing one with her should they end up in the cold again. The last thing she or the baby would need is her getting a cold.
"Ah, there's fish down here, too," the Doctor remarked, spotting a few little ones skittering by, laughing as the swarmed around Angel a moment as she caught up before swishing away through the maze of pods.
"Yeah, but only tiny ones," Kazran waved him off, "The house is built on a fog lake. That's how dad freezes the people," he stopped in front of a chamber, "They're all full, but we could borrow one," he pointed, "Yeah, this one."
The Doctor held up the lamp Kazran had given him to see the blonde woman from before inside, "Hello again," the Doctor greeted, Angel spotting her as well.
"You know her?" Kazran looked up.
"Why her?" the Doctor looked at him.
"Is she important?" Angel smiled knowingly.
"She won't mind," Kazran turned back to the box, trying to hide a faint blush, "She loves the fish," he tapped in a number on a keypad on the side of the pod and holographic video of the woman's face began to play in the small window.
"My name is Abigail Pettigrew," the video began, "And I'm very grateful for Mr. Sardick's kindness. My father..."
"She starts to talk about the fish in a minute."
Angel smiled, realizing that Kazran would only know that if he'd seen the video before, and to know what was coming next, he must have watched it a few times. Though probably when his father was moving a new person in as he hadn't had the code earlier. It was sweet, she could tell the boy was captivated by the woman, Abigail.
"…but I would not allow it. I could not have chosen this path were it not for the compassion and generosity of the great philanthropist and patron of the poor, Mr. Elliot Sardick, but I'm also surrounded by the fish, the beautiful, iridescent, magical fish..."
As Abigail spoke, the Doctor turned and walked down the row of containers, peering into some of them while Kazran and Angel stood by the video, though Angel was watching him go as Kazran watched the hologram, "Why are these people here?" he wondered.
"…they catch the light as they dart through the fog..." Abigail continued.
"What's all this for?" the Doctor frowned.
"My dad lends money," Kazran explained, not taking his eyes away from Abigail, "He always takes a family member as...he calls it security."
"Hard man to love, your dad," the Doctor looked back, "But I suppose you kn..."
He trailed off, swallowing hard, his gaze falling on Angel once more. She was standing there in his coat. He blinked, how had she gotten his coat? And then he frowned, realizing HE'D given it to her when he'd learned she was cold. Why hadn't he remembered that? No, no, he DID remember, yes, he'd asked her if she was cold, she'd said yes (near enough) and he'd wanted her to feel warm...so he'd given her his coat. Yes, right, of course he had. He didn't want her to be cold. He was fine, which, now that he thought of it...Angel should be find too, being a Time Lady. But then again, he was in pants and shoes and socks and a shirt (and a coat), while Angel was in a slightly thin dress that was like a big t-shirt and boots...it was no wonder even she was cold. Kazran even had a thick dressing gown on.
But that wasn't what had made him pause, seeing her in his coat, ok, yes it WAS seeing her in his coat that had made him stop but it wasn't because he wasn't sure how she'd gotten it for a moment but...it was just...she looked...good. In his coat. The tweed coat fit her. It was...nice. And it had nothing to do at all with it being HIS coat around her. No, no it didn't. So what if she looked good in his coat? It wasn't like it was his clothes she was wearing. He winced, forcing an image of Angel wearing his shirt OUT of his mind. He would NOT disrespect Angel by thinking of her that way, no, that was wrong and...and...
"Doctor?" Angel called, "Are you alright?" she walked over to him, "You're turning red."
She really had no idea what was going on with him, all she heard in his head was 'no' repeatedly.
"I'm fine!" he nearly jumped back from her and into a pod behind him, "Fine."
"You're voice is squeaky again," she told him.
He cleared it, deepening it, "I'm fine."
She eyed him, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, yes," he nodded, "Fine, just fine, wonderful, I was just um..." he looked around again, trying to think of anything but how close Angel was...granted she was two feet away but still... "Kazran!" he shouted, making the boy jump as he pointed at the child, "Is the pod almost ready?" he quickly dashed back to Kazran's side, leaving Angel standing there all too confused and slowly following him...only to stop and look back through the fog worried, her expression catching the Doctor's eye as he was NOT looking back at her, no, he was...looking at the pods.
"…I am not alone, and I am at peace," Abigail finished as Kazran nodded.
The boy hit a few more buttons and the lights turned on in Abigail's container, warming her, in a soft light. He looked over at the Time Lords to see them standing there, "What's wrong?" he walked over to the Doctor and Angel as they looked around cautiously. He frowned, hearing a small beeping noise echo.
"Just my half a screwdriver trying to repair itself," the Doctor said, tense, "It's signaling the other half."
And then realization hit them.
"The other half's inside the shark…"
"Yeah. Sounds like she's woken up. Ok," he nodded, thinking fast, "So it's homing on the screwdriver..."
Angel grabbed the Doctor suddenly, pulling him to the side as the shark loomed out and snapped at the place he'd just been standing. Unfortunately the sudden move made the Doctor stumble and sent them both falling to the floor while Kazran bolted away, the shark going after him. The Doctor twisted mid-fall, landing on his back with an 'oomph,' Angel on top of him, which made him flush all the harder.
Though this time Angel didn't notice as she got up quickly, shouting, "Kazran!" before she ran off after him, the Doctor scrambling to his feet to follow.
~8~
"Run!" Older Kazran gasped, his eyes wide, his heart racing as though he were back in the vault, running himself.
~8~
Kazran ran through the maze of containers, stopping to hide behind a small pillar, hearing the shark beeping as it swam by...
When, a moment later, a woman started singing 'In the Bleak Midwinter.'
~8~
Older Kazran looked around his room, hearing the song in his mind, echoing as though in the room with him.
~8~
Kazran stood up shakily and walked back through the maze, following the song till he spotted Abigail's container open, the woman at the end of the aisle, kneeling on the ground, singing to the shark, stroking it, calming it. Behind him, Angel dashed out from between two containers, pulling the Doctor after her as she led him back. They looked over to see Kazran watching the woman and walked over, Angel relieved that the woman had managed to calm the shark as well, she hadn't gotten a chance to before. She was of the impression that animals, at least, were very aware of those around them and, if you meant them harm, they would react defensively. And men did tend to overreact, especially the Doctor, so it made sense that she and Abigail, by treating the shark with calm were able to keep it from attacking.
"It's not really the singing, of course," the Doctor mentioned after a few moments of listening to Abigail sing.
"Yes, it is," Kazran countered.
"Nah."
"The fish love the singing, it's true."
"It is lovely," Angel agreed.
"I suppose," the Doctor shrugged, "But what really happens is that the notes resonate in the ice, causing a delta wave pattern in the fog…" he slapped his neck, "Ow!" and spun to Angel, pouting, "A fish bit me!" he told her, as though she'd be able to do something about it, which only made her laugh a bit and him grin at having made her laugh.
"Shut up, then!"
Abigail turned to them smiling as she sang.
"Of course!" the Doctor cheered, "That's how the machine controls the cloud belt. The clouds are ice crystals. If you vibrate them at the right frequency, you could align them..." he slapped his neck once more, "Ow! Why do they keep biting me?"
"Because you deserve it?" Angel suggested, amused.
"Look, the fish like the singing, ok?" Kazran snapped, "Now shut up!"
The Doctor made a face, looking about to argue, but Angel just put her finger on her lips, motioning for him to keep silent. He sighed but nodded, mouthing 'Ok.'
Kazran turned to listen to the rest of the song, Angel stepping beside him and putting a hand on his shoulder. He smiled up at her and looked back, the Doctor watching on with a soft smile as he observed Angel, the alien in the dress and cowboy boots and tweed coat, just taking a moment to enjoy the singing that was lulling a killer flying shark to sleep.
Only on Christmas.
~8~
Older Kazran smiled at the memory and turned his head to see a near-full body portrait of Abigail on the wall where his father's used to be, looking at it fondly, with such...care...before he blinked and turned around, "It's bigger on..."
~8~
"...the inside," Kazran stared, him and Abigail standing at the edge of the TARDIS door, looking inside in awe.
"Yeah, it's the color," the Doctor nodded as he secured the shark in the icebox, Angel at the console, getting the TARDIS ready, "Really knocks the walls back," he tapped the container, "Shark in a box, to go."
~8~
Older Kazran smiled warmly, walking to the portrait, "Abigail," he reached out and put a gently hand on the edge of the frame around it, she was beautiful.
~8~
Abigail looked around the TARDIS in wonder as Angel and the Doctor worked on setting the box in motion, "This is...amazing!" she laughed.
"Nah, this is transport," the Doctor called.
"Oi!" Angel shouted as the TARDIS hummed in annoyance at what the Doctor had said, before turning to the rotor and reaching out to pat it, "Don't you listen to him girl, you're amazing!" she whispered, smiling as the light in the rotor brightened.
"We keep amazing..." the Doctor just continued, running to the doors and pulling them open, "Out here!" Kazran and Abigail gathered around the doors to see fish swimming among the clouds, sunlight streaming in through the white fluff.
Angel just leaned against the console, her arms crossed as she smiled at the sight beyond, not even noticing the Doctor looking at her, illuminated with the glow of the rotor behind her.
~8~
Older Kazran ran to one of the bookcases and pulled back a curtain on the lower shelf, pulling out a small chest.
~8~
The Doctor ran back to the ice-pod, "Come on, then, let's get this shark out," he punched the numbers to start the defrost as Angel glanced over at Abigail and Kazran, smiling lightly when she saw the boy pull out a camera and take a picture of Abigail as she looked out at the fish.
~8~
Older Kazran opened the chest, pulling out a handful of pictures, the first one of Abigail from just that moment.
~8~
"Hey, look at her go!" Kazran shouted with glee as the shark flew past them and into the sky.
"She missed her family," Angel remarked, pushing off the console to walk down and join them, "It's not much fun swimming alone."
The Doctor looked back at Angel when she stopped walking to see her frowning, staring down at something on the pod. He made his way over and looked down to see a series of numbers on the front of it, a mess of 0s with a final number of 8.
"Abigail," Angel called the woman over, "What does the '8' mean?"
"It pertains to me, ma'am, not the fish," Abigail mentioned quietly with a glance back at Kazran that made them frown at the concern in it, clearly she was speaking quietly so as not to be overheard.
"Yeah, but how?" the Doctor asked.
"You are a doctor, you say?" she turned back to him, "Are you one of mine?"
"You have more than one?" Abigail looked sad at that, knowing that, while SHE had the Doctor, she wasn't ill, and that humans tended to have a doctor for when they were sick...and to have more than one couldn't be good.
The Doctor opened his mouth to ask her more when a bell chimed at the console, "Ah! Sorry!" he ran back to it, Angel smiling fondly at how quickly he could be distracted before following after, "Time's up, kids!"
"Why?" Kazran asked, closing the doors.
"Because we need to get you back for Christmas Day!" Angel smiled at him.
~8~
Older Kazran looked up at the ceiling, his eyes teary.
~8~
Abigail stepped back into her container now back in the ice vault as Angel, the Doctor, and Kazran stood outside it, "If you should ever wish to visit again..." Abigail spoke.
"Well, you know, if we're ever in the neighborhood..." the Doctor trailed.
"They come every Christmas Eve!" Kazran interrupted, "Yeah, they do, every time. They promise!"
Angel laughed, "Why not?" she cheered, crossing her hearts.
"No, we don't..." the Doctor started but Kazran had already closed the door.
~8~
The door opened a mere second later for Abigail but a year outside the pod and the Doctor and Kazran were standing before her, wearing Father Christmas hats, while Angel had a small wreath of holly and ivy, holding another for Abigail as well, "Merry Christmas!" they grinned.
"Doctor!" Abigail laughed, "Angel!" she smiled, hugging the girl as the Time Lady put a wreath on her head with a laugh. The Doctor turned and led the way down the aisles of pods towards the door, carrying a harness slung over his shoulder, "What are we going to do?"
"The Doctor's got a great plan!" Kazran cheered, "Wait till you hear!"
"Come on," Angel linked her arm with the woman's as they ran off after the Doctor.
None of them saw the number on Abigail's container move from 8 to 7.
~8~
The Doctor stood before a two-wheeled, open carriage working on getting the harness hooked up to it, "You are out of your mind," Abigail cried, "This will never work!"
"Lots of people have said that to him," Angel told the woman, "Surprisingly enough, he proves them wrong every time."
"Exactly!" the Doctor cheered, "Don't think shark, think dolphin," he lifted Kazran onto the seat as soon as he finished hooking up the harness.
"A shark isn't a dolphin!" Abigail argued.
"It's nearly a dolphin."
"No, it isn't."
"That's where you're wrong, because...shut up," he held his half of the sonic up and turned it on.
"It could be anywhere," Kazran hopped down from the carriage, "Will it really come?"
"No chance. Completely impossible."
And it really was.
What was he thinking? The chances of this actually working were slim but...he had to try. He didn't know why but...the moment he'd seen flying fish, the second he'd seen that shark fly into Kazran's bedroom...his mind had gone right to this idea. And it hadn't left him. In fact...the longer he was there...it got worse.
It was like he NEEDED to do this, like this HAD to happen, it just HAD to. No ifs ands or buts about it, it was going to happen. But how? And...why was he so determined to do it? It was like...everything inside him was thrumming to accomplish this. His hearts were racing, his head was pounding, his chest was tightening with this...desperation...to see this come about. He'd never been so determined to do anything in his entire life than he was to call that shark down from the sky and harness it to the carriage.
And hadn't the faintest idea why.
But he had to grin though, despite his confusion as to why this was SO important to him to do, because he heard the small beeping of the shark.
"Except at Christmas apparently," Angel murmured, not quite sure how she should feel about this, about what the Doctor was trying to do. He'd promised her once, that he'd do this for her, for Christmas, but...now, to have him so driven to do it...but not know why, for she could see the confusion in his mind, feel it even, she wasn't sure she wanted it anymore.
Because the meaning and emotion behind it had been lost.
~8~
The Doctor and Angel sat in the front of the carriage, the Doctor at the reins as the flying shark flew them through the clouds, "How are we going to get back?" Kazran yelled.
"I don't know!" the Doctor replied.
"Do you have a plan?" Abigail called.
"I don't know!"
The humans laughed at that, but Angel just looked out, quiet, at the city below as the shark flew them over it, taking in the breathtaking sight.
The Doctor looked over, hearing Angel's silence, and frowned, seeing her expression was more a sad smile than a happy one. But why? This was brilliant!
He turned his attention back to the shark, wondering if she was just...afraid of heights or something because whatever it was was clearly bothering her. And that...upset him...to know that something about all this was making her unhappy, that HE had made her unhappy.
All he really wanted was for Angel to smile again, like she used to, like he remembered her smiling...
~oOo~
Angel let out a little yawn, already falling asleep, something he couldn't fault her for given how little of it she'd had the past year, "I got a good long cuddle with my Mate, JUST what I wanted for Christmas," she cracked a tired eye open at him, "Are you sure YOU'RE not psychic?"
He laughed, "I'm nowhere NEAR as special as you," he told her, meaning it, "But I do promise, the next Christmas will be better."
She hummed lightly, "Take me for a shark-drawn carriage ride and we'll call it even."
He shook his head at her, smiling at how she must be half-asleep by now, a shark-drawn carriage ride? But still, if that was what she wanted for Christmas, he'd get it for her, no question, somehow, he would.
This Christmas may have been a bust, but he was determined, one day, he'd give Angel a wonderful Christmas.
~oOo~
The Doctor looked over at Angel again, "Are you alright?" he asked her quietly, not wanting to disturb the cheer of Kazran and Abigail.
Angel jerked, turning to face him as though startled he'd spoken, "Fine."
"You don't seem fine."
Angel bit her lip, "I just..." she looked away a moment, "I'm worried about Rory and Amy."
The Doctor nodded, that explained it. He'd noticed, ever since the Pandorica events, that Angel was a bit more quiet, more solemn, less...her cheery old self. At least now he knew it was just a momentary thing though. Right now her companion WAS trapped in a ship about to crash into the ground along with his companion...
Which reminded him, they really had to get back to working on helping Kazran, so he tugged on the reins, guiding the shark back down to the ground.
~8~
Kazran, the Doctor, and Angel led Abigail back to her pod, "Best Christmas Eve ever!" she gushed.
"Till the next one!" Kazran smiled.
They closed the door and she was frozen once more.
~8~
Older Kazran sat on the floor of his sitting room, pictures spread out on the carpet before him, "New memories," he muttered, "How can I have new memories?"
He frowned, wondering what other new memories might come, whether they would be good...or bad. He glanced up at Abigail's portrait, hoping that the memories would be good ones.
A/N: Awww, did you like how much the Doctor wanted to do the shark-drawn carriage ride? :) He may not remember that he made that promise, but something in him does ^-^ I was debating ending this chapter JUST before the carriage ride but thought I'd take mercy on you :) And did you like that little moment with the coat? ;)
And wow! You guys we might make it to the next (and probably final) sneak peek by the next chapter! I think you can safely guess it'll be from the Impossible Astronaut ;)
Oh! Just wanted to say, I've been doing a little 'upcoming stories' cover thing on my tumblr every weekend (starting Friday though lol) but I've done all the ones I have an idea of actress/OCs in mind for. So...what I'm going to do instead is, every Friday/Saturday/Sunday, I'm going to post 1 'episode cover' for the Jackie Holmes Chronicles, the Davidson Gospels, AND the Lunar Cycle! So one series would be Friday, another Saturday, another Sunday. That'll probably go for about 6 weeks (till I finish the Jackie Holmes ones) and then I'd probably only do Supernatural and Evy on the official weekends (since we'd be almost caught up to the Professor by then). Eventually, when I finish the Professor, I'll pick up with Evy and 2 Supernaturals on the weekend :) If I come up with other 'upcoming story' covers, I'll post them on top of the episode covers too for an extra treat :)
Some notes on reviews...
That's what I love about 11 is that he really is just SO oblivious (-cough-RoryTheRoman-cough-) :) Lol, the Doctor's reaction to Marilyn in this saga will be pretty funny :) Aww thanks! You're awesome too :)
He'll definitely confront her about something ;) Oh the Doctor will definitely be more aware of his thoughts on Angel and questioning of them :) Lol, yup, trees :) I think, as I was writing, I just went for the first word that popped into my head and, around that time, leaves were changing and pretty colors so trees it was :) If I made it to 1000 in the next story...I honestly think I would laugh the happiest laugh I've ever laughed to see it happen again. I'm not sure what I'd do, I'd definitely do something special, but I think we'd have to see if there was anything in the next story that people REALLY wanted to know about that I could answer before the end of it ;) Thanks for adding it to your community, and I'm happy you liked it enough to favorite it :) I can say there'll be a couple more memory-flashes that he'll remember as well ;)
I think, even if he does remember by the 50th, that 10 will still find out about it and 11 will have to answer to him ;) But I think he'd be safe from Rose...depending on what episode 10 and Rose are at, if it's before Satan Pit, Rose might be a bit against guns :) And I think Angel (both of them lol, I CANNOT wait to write 2 Angels there!) would protect him no matter what, if he remembered or didn't :)
School starts in about a week and a half for me :( I only have 2 classes at night, so I know I shouldn't complain, but I've read reviews that my one professor gives out more homework than can physically be done in a week so I'm thinking my weekdays/nights are going to be shot :( Which is sad because that'll mean I really only have the weekends to write :( But I'll still do it! I would say read it after school, just as a thought :) That way you get a bit more time to sleep and you have something to look forward to after school :) Like...a little time to wind down from school before starting homework :)
Angel is a little depressed yeah :( I think it's a combination of nearly losing the baby and realizing the REAL danger they're both in staying with the Doctor and her thoughts on knowing she might have to leave in the future for the baby's safety and then Rory being in the crashing ship and...well, River's always in the back of her mind now :( Poor Angel :( But I can say, if she's this 'beaten down' now...imagine how much stronger she'll be later ;) We sort of saw a bit of both, she enjoys the ride but wishes the intent behind it was more obvious to the Doctor, and he sort of semi-remembers it in a way, a very deep rooted way :)
11 will definitely be more aware of Angel, just keep in mind, we know she's there for the Doctor's Wife and she LOVES dressing up in period outfits...imagine her as a pirate. Oh boy Doctor! Lol :) Oh the next set of River episodes will be complicated, definitely, we'll have to see what the Doctor does }:) I can say though that Rory...I LOVED Rory so much in those episodes, we'll actually see a hint of how he is when Angel's hurt/sad in Space/Time to sort of give an idea of how he'll be around River. That'll also be the episodes he learns about how River treats/treated her too :)
Lol, I think the face spider is in Toy Story too :)
I'm glad you're enjoying the story so much, I hope your twitter followers enjoy it too :) Thanks! ^-^
Now that we know the Doctor will remember one day and that the fluff will return, I think I can say there will be a kiss for them yup :) But I won't say when :)
That's a very interesting song, it made me think of River and them too :)
Good noticing with the cover :) You can't really see it here on FF since it's small, but on my tumblr, on Angel's page, there's a bigger version of the cover...and a tear in Angel's eye (just to make it hurt a little more) }:D